Posted on July 5, 2013

ESPN Host Ties Low Intelligence Test Score to NFL Player Arrests

Gabe Finger, Daily Caller, July 2, 2013

On his radio show Monday morning, ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd defended the use of the Wonderlic intelligence test by the NFL, pointing out  that it is not only a predictor of on-field success, but is also a predictor for off-field behavior.

Prompted by the news that 27 NFL players have been arrested this offseason, Cowherd discussed the usefulness of the test, and railed against the mainstream media’s charges that the test is racist.

“I don’t know why the media in the last couple years, ‘Whoa!’ It’s not a race thing, it’s a maturity thing. It goes across all lines. Maturity is what I want to know at 21. ‘Do you have your act together today, because I have to pay you 21 million guaranteed,’” Cowherd said.

The Wonderlic Test is used by groups, including the military, to assess mental aptitude in a time-pressured setting. {snip}

{snip}

“There have 27 NFL players arrested this offseason,” Cowherd said. “It’s a lot of players … Now there have been 655 guys, since 2000, arrested in this league … Here’s what I really noticed, out of all these arrests, this is the one thing I go back to: What positions have been arrested the most and what positions have been arrested the least? Well, arrested the most: Wide receiver, defensive back, defensive line, and linebacker. Those guys get arrested the most. Who gets arrested the least? Tight ends, offensive line and quarterbacks. Well, what do you know, the lowest Wonderlic scores get arrested the most and the highest Wonderlic scores get arrested the least. So dumb guys get arrested more often. Shocker.”